Trial ordered in slaying of dental assistant

VISTA  A San Diego man will face trial for the November slaying of his girlfriend, found stabbed to death in her SUV near the Carlsbad dental office where she worked, a judge ruled Wednesday.

John Carlo Monta faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder and an allegation that he used a knife.

Vista Superior Court Judge Timothy Casserly found that prosecutors had presented enough evidence at Monta’s preliminary hearing this week to order the 29-year-old to stand trial.

Girlfriend Joanne Javier, a dental assistant, was found slain about 4:25 p.m. Nov. 9 near the dental office, in a shopping center on Van Allen Way.

The dentist who runs the practice, Ida Alfonso, testified Tuesday that because Javier was having a rare lunch date with boyfriend Monta, she was not initially concerned when Javier failed to return to the office from lunch at 2 p.m. that day.

After 4 p.m., with no response to her texts to Javier, the doctor went to look for her missing assistant. She saw Javier’s dark green Toyota 4Runner on the edge of the parking lot — in a different spot than normal — and tapped on the driver’s side window.

Alfonso said she saw Javier in the passenger’s seat, and assumed she had fallen asleep. The dentist went around the SUV, opened the door, and found Javier covered in blood.

“I started panicking and yelling her name and yelling for anyone,” Alfonso said.

Javier died at the scene.

About 10 p.m. that night, police arrested Monta at his Linda Vista apartment. He has been held without bail since his arrest.

Monta, who has cancer, wore a surgical mask during his preliminary hearing.

Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso said that there was testimony that Javier’s blood was found on the inside driver’s panel of Monta’s silver Acura Integra, as well as on a lanyard in his pocket when he was arrested.

Testimony also showed that Monta believed Javier was breaking off their relationship, and might not return to the United States following a planned trip to the Philippines with her son, who was 3 at the time, Grasso said.